SENATOR Sonny Angara, chairperson of the Committee on Finance, answers questions as the Senate begins plenary debates on the proposed P5.768 trillion national budget for 2024 Wednesday, November 8, 2023.
Angara, sponsor of the 2024 National Expenditure Program, reiterates during the questioning of the minority bloc that next year’s budget will encourage growth, slash poverty, narrow the budget deficit and reduce debt, jumpstart the economy’s transformation, and finally cement the country’s status as an upper middle-income nation.
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) welcomes the sponsorship of the Senate Committee on Finance chaired by Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara on House Bill No. 8980 or the FY 2024 General Appropriations Bill.
In his sponsorship speech, Senator Angara emphasized that the national budget is more than just a money bag and a spreadsheet of numbers: “It is a toolbox for development. It funds our nation’s progress, turns our collective dreams into reality and our people’s hopes into happiness. It is the yearly embodiment of our shared commitment to building a better, more prosperous, more nurturing, and more humane Philippines.”
Amounting to Php 5.768 trillion, the proposed FY 2024 national budget aims to pursue the administration’s Agenda for Prosperity, guided by the 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda, the Medium-term Fiscal Framework, and the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) FY 2023-2028.
Also present during the Senate session were NEDA Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan; DBM Undersecretary Janet B. Abuel, Assistant Secretary Mary Anne V. Dela Vega, and Principal Economist Joselito R. Basilio; DOF Undersecretary Maria Luwalhati C. Dorotan Tiuseco; and BSP Deputy Governor Francisco G. Dakila Jr.
